Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21153 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-05-12
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 324 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Unsurprisingly, eyebrows were raised when it was announced that the classic 1970s sci-fi television show Bionic Woman was being revisited. And those eyebrows shot even higher when it was confirmed that former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan was taking the title role. But the fears, in spite of what some early word may have hinted, proved unfounded. For the new Bionic Woman is surprisingly strong.

The concept at the heart of Bionic Woman is similar, if not exactly the same as its predecessor. Ryan is Jamie Sommers, a woman leading an unspectacular life until she's caught in a horrific car crash. Saved by scientists, she's rebuilt with added strength and speed into the mix. And that proves to be just the start of the adventure.

The full series is included on this DVD set, and there's plenty to enjoy with Bionic Woman. Alongside an assortment of welcome guest appearances, the show boasts good action, strong effects and plenty of entertainment. Sadly, it wasn't enough to save it in the States, where ratings have led to its cancellation. And that's a real pity. Because while it's not perfect, and occasionally the pace is slightly off, Bionic Woman is good science-fiction television. And do you know what? Michelle Ryan is really very good too. In spite of it coming to a premature end, it's still a show worth picking up. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Just as executive producer David Eick helped reinvent Battlestar Galactica for a new generation, he gives the 1970s series The Bionic Woman a slick update here. Jamie Sommers (Michelle Ryan, Eastenders) lives an average life as an average woman, but a horrific car crash upends her quiet existence. Scientists have saved her life, but she is now the less-than-proud owner of high-tech body parts that give her incredible strength and speed. Indebted to the scientists, Jamie now has to use her powers for their projects while she conceals her new abilities from her younger sister (Lucy Kate Hale, How I Met Your Mother). Miguel Ferrer (Crossing Jordan), Molly Price (Third Watch), and Will Yun Lee (Witchblade) co-star as people employed by the secretive company. But it's the guest appearances from Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy) and especially Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as the first bionic woman that give the action-driven series an extra shot of energy. Features the complete first series of the show.

Customer Reviews

not alot to it
It was not bad but only 8 episodes long, so not something to buy, need I say more?

Lacks oomph.
With so much real quality television around, I suppose it's inevitable that some just don't quite make the grade. And in an age when writing on television on TV is reaching such high standards, it's a shame that in the end it's the writing that lets this down.
It's also worth remembering that if you plan to purchase this, it is only EIGHT episodes - yes, that includes the pilot. So Jaime Sommers is in a car accident, gets her limbs, eye and ear replaced with superior bionic parts by a covert group who go around saving the world each week. Hangers on include her younger sister who lives with her and knows nothing of her secret life, and later, a boyfriend. And for character development, well, in 8 episodes, that's all we have time for, folks. Think of it as Alias, with added bionics, minus any of the charisma.
Acting is fine - Michelle Ryan hits the required notes of all American woman, and woman who you believe can throw a punch, but somehow never quite convinces of having the superior IQ of the character - again, mostly the writing and not her fault. Miguel Ferrer is the boss, to add Hollywood clout. Let's face it though, If Miguel Ferrer is who you turn to to add clout.. well. Need I say more. One of the highlights is a story arc with Isaiah Washington who turns out to be the most believable character in the series, and a delicious cameo over several episodes with Katee Sackhoff, from Battlestar Galactica. Since the producer of this series also brought that series to the screen, it is especially disappointing that it is on story and writing that this series stumbles.
So we have a fairly hum drum series which relies completely on its high concept, and lacks pazazz. All the same, it's worth remembering that 10 years ago this would have been a welcome addition to the TV schedule... it's not a bad series - it just has such strong competition these days, that why wade through sloppy scripting and lazy character exposition?

Not a patch on the original, but it's a completely different show anyway
I loved the original version of this show with Lindsay Wagner, whose character showed flaws, a really 'ordinary' persona and fought Bigfoot of all things. This is a deserved remake, and it did need some serious updating. To this end, the writers got it right in having Jaime as a bartender and not a skydiving tennis champ. The bionics have been updated too, so it's not all about actual mechanics, but things in the body that can be manipulated to make a person stronger etc. I was very surprised to learn that Michelle Ryan would take over the lead, but actually she was a bit of a revelation. A good American accent and an acting ability that wasn't always evident in Eastenders.

The problem is that the show is incredibly tedious in places. If you're going to do Bionic Woman, then it's fine to have a couple of episodes where she's coming to terms with what's happened to her, but then they stuck in a whole team of people, not all of which are believable or even understandable, a boss who provides a touch of brutal class, and the very annoying 'original' Bionic Woman, which makes a bit of a mockery of the folklore behind the whole thing.

And they don't give Jaime enough to do. The original fight between her and Corvus is well choreographed and effects are good. Then it's some very plodding storylines and not enough bionics. The inclusion of the sister was definitely not well thought out, as she is really just a bit of an annoying distraction.

I really wanted to like this programme more than I did. Having said that, the studio didn't give it enough chance to grow. It could have developed into a much better show, and this review can only be based on the very few episodes that were made.

Definitely a missed opportunity